What's in a Name?
by Stephen1279
Summary: Gilfort Baxter is a deadly assassin who comes from a long line of ruthless killers. If you get to know him, he's just providing for his family the only way he knows how, but because of his name, he is shunned by society.
1. The Assassin Strikes

It was a foggy night only lit by a full moon. A convicted murderer by the name of Gerald Levi, who was sentenced to death, escaped the Prison of Kromm City. Little did he know, a deadly presence was lurking about in the shadows. A man with the intent to kill Gerald, for he knows he will be payed handsomely for his head. Gilfort Baxter, the feared assassin, is stalking him in the dead of night, using every inch of shadow to avoid the moonlight. He draws his weapons, a one handed sword and a poison coated dagger. He waits for the time to strike. As Gerald unsuspectingly passes him, Gilfort gets ready to attack. In one fluid motion, he dashes towards Gerald, plunges his dagger into his back, and disappears into the shadows, leaving the dagger so that the poison seeps into his bloodstream. Once Gerald draws his last breath, Gilfort takes his dagger back and swiftly heads home.

At home, Gilfort has a beautiful wife and kids. He descends from a bloodline of known killers in the city, so he is shunned by society, making it impossible to find real employment. As a result, he works as a hitman for a family friend. The head of Gerald earned him enough to bring home food, drink, and a little something for his children. He may seem like he has no feelings, but in reality, he loves his family and will stop at nothing to ensure their safety. Because of this, the king will not allow Gilfort's execution, but this does not mean he likes Gilfort in any way.


	2. Witchcraft!

"Gil, honey, can I see you for a bit?" Shouted Gilfort's wife. Gilfort walked in and sat next to her. "What do you need, Margret?" He asked. "I just wanted to thank you for doing such a gruesome task in order to bring us what we need. Though they may not show it, the kids appreciate it very much," she replied. "I know what you mean, Margret. I would go to the ends of the earth to provide for you. Especially in these dark times of crime and invasion," said Gilfort, "I couldn't imagine what I'd do if any one of you were taken from me."

After a month or so of living off of that single bounty, it came time for another task. He kissed his wife, son, and daughter goodbye and left. His next assignment was to take scout the house of a suspected witch. If she was practicing witchcraft, she was to be immediately killed.

Gilfort readies himself by dipping his dagger in poison and sharpening his sword. By the time the sun fell, Gilfort was more than ready for his next task. Slipping into the shadows, he makes his way towards the witch's cabin. Very quietly, he approached the house and slipped in through an open window. No torches or candles were lit, making it the perfect place to sneak around.

In another room, Gilfort heard a female voice. "-and just a drop of dragon's blood should do the trick!" Gilfort knew for a fact that dragon's blood was only used in potions and other magical concoctions. Carefully, he opened the door just a crack and slipped through undetected.

Swiftly, Gilfort emerged from the shadows and bashed her skull in with the hilt if his sword. He then picked her up by the throat and growled, "Practicing witchcraft, are we?" Then put her down, slashed her jugular vein with his sword, and ran off carrying a vial of her concoction as proof to justify her killing.

Gilfort's boss was extremely impressed with how quick and clean his kill was. "Astounding! That's twice as much pay as your last kill, Mr. Baxter! Bravo!" Handing Gilfort the sack of gold, the boss also gave him a new recipe for a faster acting poison to put on both his sword and his dagger. "Look, Gil, says here that it paralyzes the target and eventually kills them. Even better, you live right in the middle of an abundance of the main ingredient," he says. "Thanks," replied Gilfort, "I'll put this to good use." He ran off to get more essential things for his family.


	3. On the Defensive

Enjoying another break from his gruesome job, Gilfort and his family took a trip out of the city. They were headed to a beach nearby their home. Where they would stay for a while was a decent little cabin just yards from the shoreline.

The family eagerly unpacked the carriage and set up in the cabin. The children, of course, were excited as could be. They jumped up and down, urging Gilfort to take them to the water, where they would play for hours on end.

The children were having an absolute blast, and Margret smiled at them from a cabin window. She was making some finishing touches on the cabin so that it would be ready for them to stay in. After scrubbing the furnace thoroughly, she was finally finished, and continued to watch her husband and kids have fun in the water. Gilfort was throwing his son into the air, making it look like he's doing impressive acrobatics such as cartwheels and flips before he hits the water. Gilfort would let his daughter mount him like a horse and take a ride around in the ocean. She was a bit younger than her brother, and she would pretend to slay him like a real horsewoman. Being the big brother, he would play along and act dead.

Margret has learned a few things about stealth from Gilfort before. Her last lesson was practicing stealth on the water. Grinning, she slipped into her bathing suit and snuck down the the ocean. She took a deep breath and dove to the bottom so that nobody would see the disturbance. Swimming under the three, she darted up at Gilfort's ankles, grabbed them and yanked him under. She pulled him down to eye level and kissed him, then let him go, swimming up with him.

They emerged simultaneously, surprising the kids. "Mommy!" Shouted Tommy, the son. "That's right! I scared daddy!" Margret exclaimed. "You learn fast, Margret! I'm impressed," said Gilfort, "Soon, Tommy will learn what I have taught you." Gilfort looked at his two children. "And maybe you, too, Julie," he said to his daughter," he said to his daughter, "Then all three of you can surprise me like mommy did!" They laughed and played until the sun started to set.

That night, the children and Margret were fast asleep. Gilfort was reading a novel about a man just like him in nearly every way. Suddenly, he heard a board creak, but he thought it was the cabin settling. Then, he heard a loud shattering like a vase falling over. Margret woke up, worried that something was wrong. "Gilfort, what was that?" She asked. "I don't know, hon," he replied, "Here take my dagger and protect the kids. Careful not to cut yourself, for that's a powerful, fast acting poison." Margret nodded and ran to the kids' room, quickly hiding them and sitting behind the door. Gilfort put some of his new poison on his sword and hid in the shadows of the cabin. He saw the intruders: two masked men with razor sharp daggers, looting whatever valuables they could find. Acting fast, Gilfort charged them, bashing the skull of one with the hilt of his sword, which knocked him out. Turning to the other man, they fought. Quickly, Gilfort countered the man's attack and struck him down. It was the poison that killed him in a matter of seconds. He tied the unconscious man up and took him to the authorities, who mended his wound and threw him in a dungeon.

Returning home, Gilfort went to see his family, safely huddled up. "We're safe," he said, "For now."


	4. Bang

**A/N I aint dead, but the other story is. Just lost track, but i will start fresh with this new one. Hope you enjoy it**

Traveling by carriage home, the family rode through a small town where they overheard the news of a new deadly weapon. It would let out a bang as loud as a small bomb, firing a small stone at a high speed towards the target. This magnificent new contraption was known as the gun. The news spread like wildfire all around the kingdom. This knowledge shocked Gilfort so badly, be became paranoid about his targets owning these. He couldn't get one simply because he must remain stealthy.

Unsurprisingly, his boss ordered him to steal a gun by any means necessary. "Maybe," Gilfort thought, "if there are 2, I could get one for the house!" His hopes high, Gilfort made a dash for his intended target, a wealthy man who bought guns as soon as he'd heard of them.

That night, the man set up a scarecrow to use for target practice. 2 other men were present with their own rifles. When Gilfort arrived, he knew they were body guards that were also using dummies as targets. Slipping into the shadows, Gilfort's vision is impaired due to the waning moon. He can't tell how far away the dummy is.

Suddenly, a rifle goes off with a sudden bang! Startled, Gilfort was knocked off his feet and into the dirt. He stood up, brushing himself off and slipped back into the dark of night. Readying his blades, Gilfort approaches the guards, but stands about three yards away from them and throws a rock to distract them. It lands just behind the wealthy man, and the guards quickly investigate. Gilfort then sneaks up right behind the guards. The man mistakes it for a round that fell off of a table and goes back to shooting. As soon as the guards turn around, they are met with an unpleasant surprise. They jumped back and took aim. Thinking fast, Gilfort rolls forward and jumps up. Quickly, he draws his weapons and whirls around, slashing both of their throats, leaps into the air, and dives blade-first into the guards' boss. He stabbed him through the lung with his sword and through the heart with his dagger. Blood gushed from the deep wounds left in his body as Gilfort removes his blades.

Finally, Gilfort steals two of the three guns there. Noticing the bloody mess, Gilfort mutters to himself, "Gee, that's a little more blood than usual." He shrugs and runs back, delivering the gun to his boss and bringing one home.

Upon entering his house, Gilfort felt a sharp, crippling pain in his left leg. He hopped over to a wooden chair and sat down to see what had happened. Astonished, Gilfort finds a bloody wound in his thigh. Feeling something hard, he pries a small stone from it. Then it hit him, literally. Thinking back to when the gunshot scared him off his feet, he didn't jump...no, he was shot!


End file.
